Archangel Crusader

by Vijaya Schartz

  "Wow!" Michael couldn't help exclaim.

  Veronica smiled. "I know... I hope we never get used to it." She kissed him gently. "It took me a while to understand my new body. You remember when I met you in the cave, before the fight with Krastinios?"

  Fragments of memories flowed back slowly. "But it was a dream, wasn't it?"

  "No, it wasn't. My body felt so vibrant, even my enhanced brain could barely control it."

  "New body? Enhanced brain? What are you talking about?"

  "I'm talking about the two replicas in the embryonic tanks. Don’t you remember, the future Adam and Eve?" Veronica seemed amused at his surprise.

  "What? The improved specimens of you and me, built to last for millions of years?" Michael's mind reeled with the possibilities.

  "Exactly. Made for each other, unable to think a negative thought... Well, they've been put to a better use."

  "I'll be damned! This dad of mine is full of surprises."

  "Wait till you see your mom... She's magnificent. They make such a handsome couple."

  "Oh Lord, where does it stop?" Michael still didn’t dare to believe. "What's the catch?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. So what's the catch?"

  "I guess you could consider being stuck together for all eternity some kind of a catch."

  Michael laughed, for this was the part he liked best.

  But Veronica went on. "Another thing is, Amrah has plans for you. I think he needs you to travel with him. This means you'll have to leave Jennifer behind, at least for a while."

  "I see..." A shadow passed over Michael's mind. This would be the hardest part. "Better be important, but coming from Amrah, I'm sure it is..." Michael reflected in silence then shook his head to dispel the uncomfortable thoughts. "Still sounds better than death." Suddenly remembering, he asked, "Is the battle over?”

  At that moment, the door slid open. Amrah entered, answering the question meant for Veronica. "Over for now. Upon the death of their Warlord, the lead vessel exploded mysteriously. Our shields deflected their blows long enough. We destroyed many of their fighters. Losing their leader shattered their fighting spirit. They did not put up much of a fight after that. When the mother ship exploded, they turned back." The Blue Angel smiled.

  Michael wondered how the gentle soul had coped with warfare but didn’t ask.

  Suddenly grave, Amrah added, "Lucky for us. We sustained severe damage during the battle and could not have held on much longer. It will take weeks to get the ship spaceworthy."

  "They ran when they could have won?"

  Amrah winked. "They didn’t know that. But they will come back, believe me, Son. And next time they will be prepared. I need you to help hunt them down, find where they hide before they plan a new attack. With your wild instincts you could figure them out. I need an Archangel on my side. What do you say?"

  "An Archangel?"

  "Yes, Michael. Do you think this name was given to you by chance?"

  "God damn you, old blue goat! Not anymore I don't. Do I have a choice?"

  "You are absolutely free, Michael. You can go back down there if you choose."

  "And do what? Help Dave build his house, dodge the police, struggle in the hell I created for myself? I wouldn't enjoy it anymore. Jennifer's my only reason to stay, but she doesn't seem to need me as much, now that she found her mother. Soon she'll grow-up and make her own life... It'll be hard to watch over her from afar, but you win, old man. I'm game."

  "In about forty days, we will be ready to leave orbit. Is it enough time to settle your affairs on the planet?"

  "It'll have to do, I guess."

  *****

  Michael's first visit took him to a green hospital room in Washington D.C. In the middle of the night the hallways remained relatively quiet. The air smelled of rubbing alcohol and disinfectant. Looking with compassion over Debbie's emaciated body lying between the white sheets, Michael remembered how she had labored for his cause with selfless abandon. He smiled, letting his heart go out to her.

  The monitors attested to a faint heartbeat. Under the oxygen mask, Michael could see the bruises around the eyes. Probing Debbie's mind he realized that she was unconscious and heavily sedated. She did acknowledge him, though, in a dream. Her spirit embraced him with enthusiasm when he told her what he had come to do.

  A nurse poked her head through the doorway. Michael waved, smiling, then closed the door as soon as she had passed. Approaching Debbie's bed, he disconnected the network of tubes and intravenous lines, took off the oxygen mask and admired his handiwork. Debbie slept peacefully.

  Satisfied, he dimmed the lights before vanishing into thin air.

  *****

  When Debbie opened her eyes, she felt weak, but the pain was gone. She could see the white sheets of the bed. She knew she was in the hospital, but she did not remember getting there. How long had it been?

  She only remembered a dream. She saw Michael who told her that she was cured. Soon Debbie would go home and lead a normal life. And he had wished her happiness with Walter. Now, the pain was gone... She was hungry.

  As her eyes adjusted to the faint morning light, she saw Walter enter the room in a blue suit, staring in disbelief.

  "Good morning, darling,” Walter exclaimed. “You look much better today... Your color has returned. The bruises are gone. How do you feel? The nurse told me you had a visitor late last night, after I left. A handsome guy too. Should I be jealous?" Ever solicitous, Walter sounded especially cheerful.

  After days of numbness, pain, and silence, Debbie felt like talking again. "I'm hungry," she enunciated through a dry mouth.

  "Nurse!" Walter called out in his excitement, beaming with hope. "She's awake... She talked... And she's hungry!"

  The heavyset nurse came in and gawked, incredulous.

  "What's the matter?" Debbie’s speech improved by the second, "I'm hungry, that's all. Could I have some breakfast? I'm starved."

  "Sure, I'll get you something." The nurse disappeared through the door.

  "You'd think I came back from the dead or something," Debbie joked, but Walter's expression made her wonder.

  "Well, to tell the truth, your physician didn't think you'd wake up this time."

  "Really? I don't understand, I feel great. Ever since I saw Michael..."

  "Michael? My God, you don't know about that either."

  "About Michael? What about him? You know what, I thought I had a dream, but when I think of it, he was the visitor I had last night."

  "Debbie, I don't know how to tell you this, but Michael..."

  The nurse came in with a tray, helped Debbie to sit up with great care, and lifted the lid off the plate.

  Debbie smelled the food then stopped and looked at the nurse. "Were you here all night?"

  The nurse nodded. "Yes, I was. My shift ends in half an hour."

  "Did you see my visitor?" Debbie turned to Walter. “In your wallet there's a picture of us with Michael at the studio. Show it to her..."

  "But, darling, I'm trying to tell you that..."

  "Please, Walter..."

  Walter shrugged, searched his wallet and found the picture. He gazed at it for a second then handed it to the nurse.

  She took it and after one glance said, "Yes, that's him, that's the young man I saw last night. I wish all visitors were as nice as him. You've got good friends, Miss. God knows you deserve them. Do you need anything else?"

  "No, thanks." Debbie attacked her breakfast.

  "But that's impossible..." Walter mumbled, scratching his head. "Becky told me he was..."

  "He was what?"

  "Nothing... If he was here last night, then he's alive." Walter stared at Debbie, who ate with a healthy appetite. "It's a pleasure to see you so energetic. I was scared. I thought I'd lost you these past three days."

  "It's a comfort to know you're watching over me. I love you, Walter. Get me out of here and I'll prove it.
I feel fine today." She stretched and smiled, pushing away the tray with the empty plate.

  "I don't know if this is the right time, Debbie, I but can't think of leaving you without asking."

  "What?" she asked, alarmed by his seriousness.

  "Since it looks like you made it this time..." He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Debbie..." He hesitated. "Will you marry me? Please say yes."

  She gaped at him then felt her face blush with excitement. "Walter," she stumbled on the words. "Yes, of course I want to marry you, especially now..."

  Walter held her hand, but she pulled him into a healthy hug. He laughed in her ear. "I see your strength is back too," he humored. "I wish I could stay longer, but I have to be on the set."

  "All right, but come back as soon as you can. I miss you already."

  Walter kissed her lips softly, and Debbie kissed him back with wild fire.

  After Walter left, Debbie sank into the pillows. She could not stop smiling. Somehow, she believed that Michael had done it. She was cured. She felt regenerated, as if the cancer had died in her, and only healthy cells remained.

  Grateful, she watched the sun rise above the city. She wondered if the purity of the air was due to her state of mind or to the enforcement of the new, clean-gasoline regulations. Could there be a better time to be alive and well?

  *****

  In a convalescent home in Little Rock, Arkansas, an old man, paralyzed by a stroke, had a vision. The name on his bed said Robert Tanner. In his dream, he had a visitor, a young man who looked like Maria's boy. Robert had never liked that boy, a smart ass, too proud for his own good. The kid was scared of him but would never admit it, no matter what. In the dream, however, the boy offered apologies, peace, and forgiveness. He offered something else, health, that's what he said. The boy could give him his health back, if he promised never to hurt a living soul again.

  Robert Tanner was too proud to accept any favors or make any such promises. So, he refused. He still didn't like the boy and did not want anything from him anyway. Curiously, the young man had looked sad as he wiped the drool off the corner of Robert's mouth and said he'd be back. Robert hoped he wouldn't. Maria's boy made him uncomfortable.

  *****

  Michael materialized under the big oak tree on the front lawn of Dave’s farm and called, "Jen!"

  "Daddy! I knew you'd come, like you told me in my head." Jennifer climbed down from the lowest fork where she sat and rushed into her father's arms. "They think you're dead. I thought you were too, for a few days. But when I felt you in my mind, I told the others. They didn't believed me..." She stopped talking for a moment. As if noticing something unusual, she asked, "Are you okay, Dad? You look different. You're not saying anything."

  Michael let Jennifer down gently and gazed into her eyes. "Nothing escapes you, does it?" He took his time before going on. "See, sweetheart, I really was dead... But I'm alive now. Amrah gave me this new body that can live forever, but it's still me, your dad, inside." He sat down in the grass, letting her digest the information.

  "But you're okay?" She sat across from him.

  "Better than ever. I'll stay with you for a little while, but in a few weeks I'll have to go with Amrah, far away. I'll be gone a long time... But I'll be back, I promise."

  Jennifer was silent for a while, staring at the grass. Michael observed the process in her mind, feeling the pain and the disappointment she did not want to show. She raised her big green eyes full of resignation. "You really have to go? How long?" Her voice choked with repressed emotions.

  "A few months, a few years, as long as it takes to eliminate the threat of the likes of Lufriec and Krastinios. It needs to be done, Jen, or this planet will not be safe."

  "I know." She lowered her head in resignation.

  Unable to withstand his daughter's pain, Michael entered her mind. I'm not abandoning you, Jen. I'll be with you all the time. You can contact my mind whenever you like. I'll be there for you whenever you need me. Think, you'll have me around as long as you live and you won't have to take care of me in my old age. I'll still be here to take care of you.

  She raised her head and smiled. In that instant, Michael took away the pain, the disappointment and the grief. He would carry it for both of them.

  She sounded happy as she said, "Cool! I'll be grown up when you see me again. Mom likes having me around. She'll be glad to keep me."

  "I'll miss you, Jen." He took her hand.

  "I'll miss you too, Daddy. But I know you are alive, and I know you’ll come back."

  "That I will. Can I get a hug?" He rose, scooped her in his arms, and held her tight. Soon she wiggled and he let her down. "It seems to me that you have developed some new mental abilities in this very short time. You'll need some training, kid. These forty days are going to be very busy."

  "Please, Dad, don't call me kid, I'm not a kid anymore."

  Michael laughed at her seriousness. "All right, Miss, come with me. Let's teach the grown-ups to believe in ghosts."

  Father and daughter walked side by side through the grass, toward the only building left standing on Dave's farm, the naked frame of the new house. Several cars were parked in front, Dave's blue pickup truck among less familiar vehicles. At the very end of the row, Michael's motorcycle stood alone. The debris of the old barn and the remains of the trailer had already been cleared up. The surviving pigs had been penned outside, and the chickens ran wild everywhere.

  Michael and Jennifer approached the group of men bent over a set of blue prints. "Hi there, Dave, need a hand to build that big house of yours?"

  The men stopped talking and looked at the newcomer. Dave dropped his tape measure and stared, white as a sheet. "My God... I must be tired, I'm seeing things."

  "No, you're not dreaming, little brother, I figured you'd need some help, and I'm free for the next few weeks. What do you say?"

  "But I thought you were..."

  "I was. I just came back. I'll tell you about it later. For now, there's a job to do. Let's hurry, I haven't much time." Michael casually picked up his brother's tape measure from the ground and handed it to him. "You'll need that, little brother." He patted Dave on the shoulder.

  *****

  "Why didn't you just make a miracle, rather than work hard when you didn't have to?" Dave asked one day, towards the end of Michael's stay. The house had much advanced by then.

  "Building a house makes for good memories," Michael answered. "We're forging bonds that only hard work can seal. We don't value things given as much as things earned. Besides, It may be a long time before I build another house, and I do enjoy the work."

  During that happy time, Jennifer often disappeared for several hours at a time. Only Michael knew that she was with Amrah, getting trained to control the powers recently awakened in her.

  "I wish we could always be like this," Jennifer told Michael on their last night together, sitting under the big oak tree, watching the stars.

  "It will happen again, Jen, but not for a while. Eternal life comes with obligations. Always remember that we'll never be apart. You can reach me anytime. Don't be afraid to contact me. I'll check on you as often as I can."

  "I know. Still, it’s not the same. Why don’t you take me with you?"

  "I can’t this time, sweetheart. Next time, maybe."

  *****

  The next morning, near the big oak tree, Michael, Veronica, and Maria said their goodbyes. With moist eyes, they hugged and kissed and promised to come back. Dave, Becky and Clara huddled together on one side while on the other side, Jean-Marc held Shadow the cat, and Jennifer squeezed Tori's hand. They stared, holding on to each other.

  When Michael looked into Jennifer's eyes, the young girl's sadness vanished. She seemed transfixed with love and understanding. The tear that came to her eye expressed indefinable joy and pride.

  The three immortals waved, ascending along a wide shaft of blue light, then disappeared from sight into the morning sky.

  And in the l
ight of day, the untrained eye did not see the spacecraft move slowly from behind the moon and set a course for a distant star, but Jennifer followed it a long time, knowing that some day, she would accompany her father on the long journey to her grandfather's home world.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world and claims she comes from the future. Her books collected many five star reviews and literary awards. She makes you believe you actually lived these extraordinary adventures among her characters. Her stories have been compared to Indiana Jones with sizzling romance. So, go ahead, dare to experience the magic, and she will keep you entranced, turning the pages until the last line. Find more at http://vijayaschartz.com

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